Uninvited Tears
by Frenchiestfries
Summary: 'What if' Scarlett had actually cried infront of Rhett on their first meeting after 'that night', instead of holding back her tears?
1. Uninvited Tears

**Hu-llo there ! When I'm rereading the GWTW, and I get to certain passages, I can't help but put the book down and fantasize about 'what if' Scarlett/Rhett had done this, had said that… This account is basically me typing out my ideas. Writing is my therapy, but then I'm probably not very good at it. It's up to you to judge… and enjoy !**

**Disclaimer : HRH Margaret Mitchell, of course. Everything in bold comes from the book GWTW. It's not cheating ! :p**

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_How could a man say 'Oh hello, ' after being gone without explanation for two days? How could he be so nonchalant with the memory of such a night as they had spent? He couldn't unless – unless-the terrible thought leaped into her mind. Unless such nights were the usual thing to him. For a moment she could not speak and all the pretty gestures and smiles she had thought to use upon him were forgotten. He did not even come to give her his usual offhand kiss but stood looking at her, with a grin, a smoking cigar in his hand._

_'Where – where have you been?'_

_'Don't tell me you don't know! I thought surely the whole town knew by now. Perhaps they all do, except you. You know the old adage: 'The wife is always the last one to find out.'_

_'What do you mean?'_

_'I thought that after the police called at Belle's night before last –'_

_'Belle's –that—that woman! You have been with—'_

_'Of course. Where else would I be? I hope you haven't been worried about me.'_

_'You went from me to—oh!'_

_'Come, come, Scarlett! Don't play the deceived wife. You must have known about Belle long ago.'_

_'You went to her from me, after—after—'_

_'Oh, that.' He made a careless gesture. 'I will forget my manners. My apologies for my conduct at our last meeting. I was very drunk, as you doubtlessly know, and quite swept off my feet by your charms—need I enumerate them?'_

_She wanted to cry, to lie down on the bed and sob endlessly. He hadn't changed, nothing had changed, and she had been a fool, a stupid, conceited, silly fool, thinking he loved her. It had all been one of his repulsive drunken jests. He had taken her and used her when he was drunk, just as he would use any woman at Belle's house. And now he was back, insulting, sardonic, out of reach._

Suddenly, tears sprung freely from her green eyes, raw, bitter and uninvited. Scarlett was caught off guard so, panicked and mortified, she turned away from her estranged husband, seeking shelter from his blood-shot gaze.

How could she, Katie Scarlett O'Hara, lose control over something as petty as Rhett Butler's crudeness? Oh! And that varmint! If only he where a proper gentleman! He would be gone from this room and would never mention this frightful incident again. If he was Ashley, he would never have talked about that Belle woman to his wife in the first place! She willed herself to stop weeping like a new-born. It was a long moment (or so it seemed) before she felt a hesitant hand on her shaking shoulder.

Scarlett was a proud creature, and knew Rhett would mock her for this sudden outburst of weakness, the cad. Bawling in front of him, and no less_ because_ of him, was humiliation enough. She did not want to face his jeers on top of this embarrassing occurrence. They always stung her where she expected it least. Being who she was, she could never win against him in a duel of words: he knew her too well, knew all her vulnerable spots and how to use them against her.

_He must never, never know what she had thought. How he would laugh at her if he knew!_ Scarlett's defense mechanism consisted in her finding a concentration point on the floor and staring at it stubbornly. To think she actually thought—the cad! How can he face her after what he did to her? And why couldn't she stop crying over _him_ of all things? Oh, the humiliation of it all! This was the first time she lost control in front of him. She had always managed to keep her thoughts to herself… until now.

'Scarlett? What's the matter?' Rhett's voice had lost its mocking edge, but she knew him to well to give in to the oldest deceit trick in the book. _What's the matter? _She though bitterly_, why, I don't know! Maybe the reason why I snapped is because you used me, your wife, like you use those vulgar things downtown, you obliterating fool!_

_'Get out of this room and never come back in it',_ she snapped in his direction. Scarlett wanted to avoid further discussion, and to do so she had two options: retreat or drive the attacker away. The perpetrator of her discomfort being on her escape route (in the middle of the doorway to be precise), she had no other choice but to elect the other alternative.

Rhett turned her around brusquely to face him, taking a rough hold of her arm.

_She looked up quickly at him and caught that old, puzzling, watchful glint in his eyes—keen, eager as though he clung on her next words, hoping they would be—what was he hoping?_

To avoid his disturbing stare, Scarlett wiped away with her free hand the wet streams her tears had left etched upon her now blotchy face, composing herself as best as she could for what was going to come.

'Scarlett, you could not have meant that.' He said calmly, his expression perplexed.

'And you could not have meant what you said about that night simply being a drunken jest!' she countered, clearly ruffled. How dare he question her words? She felt unarmed in the face of his comments, especially after that degrading outburst, but she refused to go down without giving a fight. Always the fiesty Irish blood.

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**Yes, it's (very) short. The thing is, I'm a selfish, lazy, pessimistic creature and like everybody else, I don't want to work really hard on something that nobody want's to read. Don't get me wrong, I _want_ to do it, I'm just very sluggish on actually getting started. For good quality and regular updates, I need to feel motivated… so guess what ? You guys are going to have to poke, push and shove me! I'm counting on you, my online cheerleaders!**

**BTW : I'm sorry about all the spaces between ' !'s & ' ?'s and all the wierd typos : it's because I'm french (get the penname? ^^) and this french PC has an auto-correct that's REALLY starting to piss me off. I don't know how to get rid of it, so for now just deal with me, kay? :)**


	2. Unexpected

**Ok. Truthfully, I was scared to actually jump into the pool, know what I mean? This is the beginning of (the end ;p ) the actual story: last 'Chapter' was almost an intro. But not quite. **

**Thanks to all your reviews and follows (thank you so much my little cheerleaders! More about this at the bottom of the page!), I felt SUPER MOTIVATED *pictures herself as Hulk* ! **

**So… I slept on it and this is what I came up with. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: GWTW's world & characters belong to Margaret Mitchell and her Estate. Everything in _italic_ comes from the book.**

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There was a silence. Both spouses held to the eye-contest obstinately, waiting for a sentiment, a reaction of some sort to appear on the other's face. None of them moved, none of them spoke, none of them let their feelings show, to the disappointment of their partner. The truthful words that had been uttered hung in the air eerily, unanswered and discarded by the pair. Their contest seemed to go on forever, but nobody wanted to make the next move for they knew it would be the losing one. It was a stare-down between two duelists, with one-bullet guns and all.

On her part, Scarlett felt, almost by instinct, that it would be better to keep Rhett from guessing her present thoughts: she knew he could read her like an open book. Therefore, she concentrated on keeping her visage placid whilst she proceeded in mentally untangling the reasons for her inner turmoil.

Truthfully, she was scared of what was going to happen next. Scarlett O'Hara was mortified by what she had just said and dreaded her husband's reaction. How odd that sounded. She, the woman who had saved Tara and her friends in the worst imaginable circomstances, scared? Of him? It was the third time this week! Oh! Had she really admitted the reason for her tears aloud? God's nightgown! Crying was bad enough, but now she was sure never to hear the end of this! What was wrong with her? Why was she so confused and whiny these days? Could it possibly be that she was growing a 'woman's heart'? Dear god! Her of all people, for Rhett Butler! But—what about Ashley? It all seemed surreal.

There was her husband now, looking down at her. She hadn't noticed up until now, but his hands were still on her shoulders, the grip present and untiring. His height gave him the upper hand, allowing him to tower over his prey imposingly. His faced had blanked like hers, both of them sharing the same defensive mechanism. They were close. Too close.

Scarlett was becoming uneasy at the situation and her defensive wall was crumbling under his piercing stare, much to her dismay. To this day, _she still felt unclothed every time his eyes ran up and down her figure._ It was always like the first time, all those years back, at the Twelve Oaks' barbecue. Slowly, but surely, she could feel her cheeks burning up under his eyes. Oh dear! Whatever was wrong with her? Rhett is going to win this time as well!

Much to her surprise, _his black eyes sought her face and traveled to her lips._ Dared she hope—Oh! Maybe she _hadn't_ been wrong, maybe he _did_ love her, but was too proud to admit it! _Scarlett cast down her eyes, excitement filling her. _She was sure now of what was going to come: _he was going to kiss her, or try to kiss her! _That would be positively thrilling! After all, although she hated to admit it, his kisses were always so overpoweringly passionate, that secretly, deep down, she enjoyed them. Yet why was she feeling impatient for one? The act was supposed to be an uninvited, conveniently pleasing ritual she was obliged to go through with.

Suddenly, he let go her of her arm, breaking the spell. It was his turn to turn away. It took Scarlett a minute to realize she was free. She took a couple steps back in the hope of releasing herself from the odd feeling of discomfort that had taken place in the knot of her stomach. The moment was over as quickly as it had started. What had happened? Why was she feeling disappointed? Why was she so confused in the first place?

Rhett was the first of pair to break the silence: _'I'm going. That's what I came home to tell you. I'm going to Charleston and New Orleans and—oh, well, a very extended trip. I'm leaving today.'_

'What? You're leaving? Why?' Scarlett was dumbfounded. This was not what she had expected in the least! Coming from the viril man she knew Rhett to be, the words seemed very meek. Had nothing changed between them? She had thought the combination of events haven taken place that night and today would have put a new light on their marriage. It seemed, however, that she was wrong. Why were things always so complicated when it came to her husband?

Ignoring her comment, he continued in the same way, turning around to face her again, his expression a detached grin: _'And I'm taking Bonnie with me. Get that foolish Prissy to pack her little duds. I'll take Prissy too.'_

On the other end of the conversation, Scarlett couldn't believe her ears. He was going to leave her? He was running away like a coward? Her hurt and frustration curdled to anger, as it usually did. 'Oh! That's right! Just flee from the problems _you_ created and _you_ don't want to face, just like the foul, disgusting rat you are! How dare you! _You'll never take my child out of this house.'_

'_My child too, Mrs. Butler. _And it seems I need to remind you that it is I, and not you my dear, that wears the pants in this family. Therefore, by the laws of our new Government that you love so, everyone under this roof is at my disposition. And that includes my rebellious wife.'

'Ah! The joys of being a married woman! Men have the say in everything and what do we get in the hassle? Being trampled on by all society at the slightest faux pas, and batches of annoying, snotty brats!'

Abruptly, Rhett's poised demeanor disappeared at the subject of children, giving place to impulsive rage: 'And then you give _yourself pious airs about your motherhood, why a cat's a better mother than you! What have you ever done for the children? Wade and Ella are frightened to death of you and if it wasn't for Melanie Wilkes, they'd never know what love and affection are._ I've had enough of your antics Mrs. Butler. So I say good day to you, and we'll postpone this conversation until I get back.' At those words, Rhett turned on his heels.

'Now just you wait—' started Scarlett, but he was already gone. She heard him noisily make his way across the house to the nursery. _He's probably getting Bonnie_, she thought, the words sinking in. What had gone wrong? And why did she feel like crying again?

Rhett Butler departed an hour later, leaving his broken wife think over his stinging words. She stayed up nights, trying to detect the truth in what was all but a painful, blurred mess in her mind.

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**Don't hate me! You know as well as I do that they'll end up together eventually! Wait—what? Are those pitchforks? Noo—please! Just hear me out! **

**I know this was probably not what you were expecting, but I just felt that a relationship as complicated and broken as Rhett's and Scarlett's couldn't be salvaged in one simple conversation. I think one of them (if not the two) would eventually run away from their mutual feelings, were they to surface for some reason. I also feel like they need to go through some sort of change before being able to see eye to eye and pour their hearts out to each other. And in case you didn't know, I'm obsessed with everything being BELIEVABLE. A real nut. That's why I use so much from the book.**

**This is NOT a rewrite but I don't think there will be a 'fall' scene. I might change my mind. Wan't to help me decide? Tell me how YOU think they should meet up again!**

**Oh! And I'm super grateful for all your reviews! They really motivated and helped me update light-speed fast (only two days later?! Do NOT get used to this) ! Special thanks to _nostalgia_, _Chris OHB_,_ missysammy, LottieDah85, guess who i am,_ _ilidio13_, _Lol, Cornorama,_ _windfanokb _and _Coco B _****who left me some really kind, and helpful reviews! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!**_  
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